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DASA ibF-25 Thor ICBM
The DASA ibF-25 (interkontinentaler ballistischer Flugkörper - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) Thor is a nuclear ICBM deployed by the New German Reich and operated by the Luftwaffe. It is designed and produced exclusively by Deutsche Aerospace AG Nordhausen, and had its first successful launch from the Reichsraumfahrtbehörde (Reich Space Agency) launch complex at Peenemünde in 2009. Description The Thor is a cold-launched, two-stage, liquid-propellant, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile's length is 31.394 m and the first stage has a body diameter of 3.05 m. The mass at launch is 153,560 kg, including the 3690 kilogram payload. The Thor carries a single warhead with a 9 megaton yield. Its minimum range is estimated to be 2,000 km and the maximum range is global. It has two liquid feuled rocket stages with inertial, autonomous flight control utilizing an onboard GLOSNAS (Globales Satellitennavigationssystem - Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver. It is reputed to have the highest accuracy of any ICBM with a CEP of 200m. Propulsion The Thor uses an innovative propulsion system, originally developed by OTRAG as the Gemeinraketeantreibwerke (Common Rocket Propulsion Unit - GRAW). The CRPU is essentially a steel tube, 27 cm in diameter and 16 meters long, joined from a few shorter tubes. The CRPU is divided into three sections by aluminium bulkheads, with additional stiffening rings between bulkheads. Forward, the majority of the tube contains a mixture of nitric acid and nitrogen tetroxide oxidisers. Next is a section of kerosene fuel. This was commercial-grade kerosene, not the more expensive RP-1. Last is the engine section. A fuel line carried nitric acid around the kerosene, into the engine. The design of the CRPU is extremely simple. The tubing is strong enough that the propellants are fed to the engine by pressure alone. This eliminated the need for turbopumps. The engine is ablatively cooled, eliminating the need for fine fuel passages and heat-resistant kerosene. The engine does not gimbal; instead, the vehicle is steered by throttling one side's CRPUs versus the opposite side. Thus, the engine is simply built into the tube walls, with the only mechanisms being the throttling valves. No separate pressurising system is included; the tanks were simply left with an ullage space, which was then filled with gas to a few hundred psi. Because of the narrow tubing, the bulkheads between sections could be simple plates, instead of domes like virtually all other rocket stages. There was no ignition system; instead, a slug of furfuryl alcohol was injected before the kerosene. The furfuryl alcohol ignited spontaneously upon contact with the nitric acid. The use of ablative cooling, high-pressure steel construction, and large "empty" spaces means that a CRPU is heavy, with relatively low performance. The diameter of the tubing also puts a hard limit on the engine diameter, preventing use of an efficient, high-expansion nozzle for the upper stages. However, ganging CRPUs into three stages is sufficient to reach orbit. Meanwhile, the low cost of each CRPU, will still leave the vehicle cheaper than its contemporaries. Additionally, the large number of small engines firing simultaneously will give a high degree of reliability and a relatively smooth ride. However this design would have produced a very large, heavy and bulky delivery unit, which would have to be stored on the surface on its launch pad. The first stage would have had 96 CRPU's bundled around the second stage of 24 CPRU's, which in turn would be bundled around the third payload carrying stage of 8 CPRU's. Further Development OTRAG merged with DASA's predecessor, PASA in 2015. DASA have since refined the CPRU into larger units which gives a more streamlined, and aerodynamic launch vehicle, reducing the CPRU's from 130 to two. Unlike other liquid fuelled rockets, the missile can be kept fuelled and in a ready to launch state almost indefinately. The Thor missiles are stored in hardened silos that can withstand a direct hit from a nuclear weapon. Operational Units 25 missiles are in operation with the Luftwaffe's Flugkörpergeschwader 5. Links *Neue Deutsche Reich *Deutsches Reichswehr Category:Freistaat Preussen Category:Military of Prussia t